Willed into existence when the commercial needs of the mid-20th-century record industry required something in the intermediate price point between a single and a then-pricy album, the lowly EP has developed into the musical equivalent of the novella. The precocious Zach Condon here takes advantage of the medium's invitation to stretch and experiment with a pair of EPs, one credited to his main project, Beirut, the other to his nom-de-bedroom knob twiddler, realpeople. A canny British reviewer likened Condon to a Wes Anderson character leading an endless exploration of other cultures and times (previous Beirut projects concerned Gypsies and 1920s bohemians) in a vain attempt to escape the barren white suburb of the mind. Zapotecs is another such foray into exotica; this time the destination is an imaginary Mexico populated by funeral-marching bands and indigenous individuals who seem to be into Nino Rota. Holland's synth-pop, on the other hand, is Condon's thinly veiled homage to another overachieving man of many concepts, Stephin Merritt. Like the most artistically successful EPs (Magical Mystery Tour, the Who's surf-rockers, the Beta Band's glory-days output), these do the job without overstaying their welcomes.

J.P. to the rescue! This Tuesday, June 24, the musical mayor of JP, Rick Berlin, hosts a benefit for the victims of the earthquake in China.

Now playing — RISD: The Musical! We all know RISD students like to paint and draw, but can they hoof it? Or belt out a show tune and carry a giant pencil at the same time? Well, yes, it turns out.

Night music Classic musicals make substantial enterprises —this is now the best thing the Pops does.

Good Fela! beats Nigerian drum Riddle this: what's more unlikely than the fact that the current toast of Broadway is a musical about a Nigerian agitprop pop singer, or that it owes its existence to a Caucasian commodities trader from New England?

Sugar-coated pop, anyone? With lines such as "chock-full of sunny melodies and intimate, introspective lyrics with bright, polished production," I clearly didn't stumble onto the next Jesus Lizard here.

Various artists | Open Strings: 1920s Middle Eastern Recordings Over the past year, Honest Jon's has released three compilations culled from more than 150,000 78s of early music from the EMI Hayes Archive: music from 1930s Baghdad, early West African music recorded in Britain, and a more general compilation that moved across country lines and the first half of the 20th century.

IAN KING | PANIC GRASS AND FEVER FEW | March 16, 2010 Just a few weeks after we reviewed the belated release of African Head Charge's latest, another, more recent gem from the always rewarding sonic laboratory of Adrian Sherwood arrives.

JOE CUBA | EL ALCALDE DEL BARRIO | March 09, 2010 Fania kicks off 2010 with what is sure to end up being one of the year's most important archival releases of Latin music.

ALEJANDRO FRANOV | DIGITARIA | March 03, 2010 Alejandro Franov is an Argentine multi-instrumentalist who's been involved in the more serious, and often experimental, side of the Buenos Aires music scene since he was a teen in the late 1980s.